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CIRCLES (UN)BROKEN

IV.

CHASE

---

"Chase? Chase!"

Chase gasped as he came to. It took him a split second to realize where he was and when he did, he scrambled to grab hold of the safety restraints.

His stomach dropped when the roller coaster twisted around into a sharp dive, and he couldn't help but scream as they plummeted down and then immediately up through a huge loop and then through several winding corkscrews.

Part of him noticed that TJ was still holding his arm, but the other part was more focused on not flying out of the seat, despite that he knew he was securely strapped in.

"What... what happened?" Chase groaned when the train hurtled through a section of the ride that was somewhat more level. His head felt like there were a thousand knives stabbing into his brain.

"You kinda passed out after the second loop and didn't wake up," TJ said in a tiny, anxious sounding voice. "Are you alright?"

Chase noticed that the way TJ was holding his arm was less like I-don't-wanna-fall-off and more like I'm-gonna-keep-you-from-falling-off.

"I'm not sure what happened..." Chase admitted. He had passed out?

"Yeah, you kinda just... slumped in your seat..." TJ trailed off.

"I'm,I'm fine," Chase sighed, rubbing his temple. He held on tightly to the straps when the train went through another drop, but it was milder this time, but then they were soon zooming through a series of sharp bends which didn't help with his headache.

Thankfully, the train soon reached the end of the tracks and they were gliding back towards the station.

"Ah... I missed most of the ride huh?" he said, attempting to lighten the mood.

TJ tried to give him a smile, but it fell a bit flat.

Chase let out a soft groan, feeling the headache subsiding as the train slowly rolled into the station. Then, he felt another distinct sensation in his stomach.

"Ugh... I think I'm gonna be sick."

"We'll go to the bathroom," TJ said faintly. "I don't feel too well myself."

As the train came to a full stop, Chase tried to even out his breath as he unstrapped himself and climbed out of the car. TJ had practically jumped out the moment he was free.

Chase and TJ half ran toward the exit. The otter could see Leo and Jenna looking concerned as they came from the front of the train. He gave them a quick wave before he and TJ disappeared from view.

Thankfully, the bathroom was not too far from the ride. Chase emptied the contents of his stomach the moment he got into a cubicle. He could hear TJ heaving as well next door.

"Urg... stupid ride," he groaned as he heaved into the toilet again.

Chase quickly flushed his vomit and went to wash his hands by the sinks. TJ was already there by the time he got out. The lynx was washing his hands vigorously.

"You okay, Teej?" he asked.

"Not too bad, I suppose," TJ said with a small, faint smile. "Are you feeling better now, Chase?"

"I guess so," Chase replied with a sigh. "Dunno what came over me but I'm okay now."

TJ gave him a concerned look. "If you say so."

Chase remembered something. "Oh yeah Teej, don't tell the others I passed out alright?" he said quickly. "I don't want Leo to hover over me."

TJ looked at him strangely. "But I thought the two of you broke up years ago?"

"It was... messy," Chase sighed. "And did you see how he's been acting since we arrived?"

Humming, TJ's brows creased as he considered the question. "Ah... I think I see your point," he nodded.

"Thanks dude," Chase sent the lynx a small smile.

"Anytime!" TJ gave him a grin

The others were already waiting outside the bathroom. Leo, predictably, immediately stepped forward to make sure Chase and TJ were actually fine, but mostly to Chase.

"We're fine! Just a tad nauseous," the otter said, fending off Leo's pats. "Seriously, I just felt lightheaded from the ride, that's all."

Leo reluctantly stepped back. "If you say so."

"Yes, I'm fine," Chase gave a firm nod.

"So... what do you guys wanna do next, dude?" Carl asked.

The answer came easily to Chase. "My feet are killing me so I'd rather we rest for a while before we continue."

It was a sentiment shared by most of the group.

"Well, it's nearly half past two," Carl pointed out. "Why don't we have lunch?"

"Sure, why not?" Chase nodded.

Leo turned to him again. "You sure, otter? I mean..." the wolf trailed off and gestured to the bathroom.

A flash of annoyance crossed Chase's mind. "I'm fine."

"You know, Leo, muskshit over there doesn't fucking need any more babying from you," Flynn pointed out with a bored tone.

TJ let out a small groan. "Language."

"Muskshit?" Chase turned to Flynn and sent him an incredulous look.

At the same time, Leo went up to the lizard, glaring. "Now listen here--"

Flynn pushed away Leo's face with a hand, seemingly unbothered by the angry looking wolf and turned to Chase. "No offense, Chase, but you've been musking since we queued for the ride."

Chase immediately sniffed himself and made a face. Ugh, he was musking alright. He reached into his cargo pants and pulled out the pocket sized musk-a-way which he had brought and sprayed himself.

"You know, I really wonder how otters dealt with their musk before musk-a-way was invented," Carl mused.

"Copious amounts of colognes and perfumes," Chase immediately answered once he was done spraying himself. "Gramps had this collection of otter-specific colognes from his younger days. They were pretty cool looking,"

Flynn snorted. "Well, duh."

"So... food court?" Chase asked after he had finished de-musking himself.

"Food court!" Carl agreed enthusiastically.

"Food court," Jenna and TJ said in unison.

Leo exhaled and nodded, stepping away from Flynn. "To the food court then."

---

The food court was understandably crowded given the time. Nevertheless, Chase and the others managed to find a table large enough to fit all six of them near the corner of the large, hall-like room.

Chase and TJ were told to "hold down the fort" as Carl put it while he and Flynn and Jenna went to get food. Leo decided to accompany Chase and TJ.

Chase decided to kill time by browsing his social media feed while stretching out his legs.

"Can we like, rest here for the next couple of hours? My feet are really killing me," he groaned, propping up his feet to the empty chair next to his own.

"Agreed there," TJ said, massaging his calves.

Leo made a noncommittal hum. "Well sure, why not? We've been on our feet since morning."

"Otters aren't made to stand and walk around for hours after all," Chase joked, which elicited a chuckle from Leo and TJ.

"I'm surprised your short stubby legs have held up till now," Leo teased.

"Hey! They aren't stubby!"

"Excuse me. You guys don't happen to be Chase Hunter and Leo Alvarez, right?"

"Huh?" Chase turned to look at the person who had just called his name, as did Leo.

The table right next to them, which was empty when they arrived, had been occupied by two guys. The taller of the two was a coyote... wolf? Coywolf? The canine had features of both species, with predominant light gray fur with white and tan patches. The other guy was a wolverine with black and dark brown fur and a shock of platinum blonde hair.

Both of them were pretty large and muscular. The coywolf had the most definition and the way he filled out his t-shirt was very easy on the eyes. The wolverine was slightly bulkier than his canine companion, with his polo shirt stretched over his pecs and belly.

Chase couldn't help but feel that the coywolf looked familiar, but the wolverine was a complete stranger.

"Wait... Blake? Blake Adler?" Leo stood up and went over to the other table.

"Leo! How are you, dude? Been a long time!" the coywolf stood and pulled Leo into a big bro-hug, laughing.

It suddenly clicked. Blake was one of Leo's buddies on the football team. No wonder Chase didn't recognize him at first. The coywolf had put on some serious muscle and bulk since the last time he saw him... which was during their high school graduation two years ago.

"Nice to see you again, Blake," Chase said, walking up to the coywolf with a friendly grin, only to be pulled into a big bro-hug as well.

Blake laughed. "Didn't expect to see you two here," he said, before he noticed TJ sitting there, trying not to look awkward. "You're Toby... right?"

"I go by TJ now," said the lynx with a smile.

"Ah, gotcha," Blake nodded. "Is it just the three of you then?" he turned to Leo.

"We came with Carl, Flynn and Jenna. They're getting food somewhere," Leo replied, before his eyes turned to the wolverine. "And who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Logan, my boyfriend!" Blake replied with a grin.

"How do you do?" the wolverine said with an even smile, shaking Leo's paw.

Chase could only blink in surprise.

"Oh! Uh... nice to meet you too," Leo uttered, looking surprised. He turned to Blake. "I didn't know you're--"

"Gay?" Blake gave a bemused sort of sigh. "You know, I actually came out to you in our senior year but you were too lovey dovey on Chase to really notice what I was saying. No offense," he added, turning to Chase.

Chase could feel him heating up a little under his fur.

"I was not!" Leo protested with a whine.

"Yes, you were," Blake grinned teasingly.

"Shut it you," Leo gave the coywolf a playful shove. "Why don't you two join us? We have extra seats," he offered.

Blake turned to his boyfriend, who shrugged and nodded. "Sure, why not?"

Leo brought the two of them to sit right next to him. His tail was wagging excitedly. Judging from Blake's tail movements, he too was excited. It wasn't everyday that you came across your school friend after being away for years after all.

It was at that moment that Carl arrived, followed by Jenna and Flynn a second later with their food. The three of them immediately turned their attention to the newcomers.

"Teej, here's your grilled chicken," Jenna said as she set down the food in front of the lynx, "and Chase, this is your fish and chips."

"Thanks!"

"So Leo, gonna introduce us?" Jenna asked, turning to the wolf as she sat down with her own tray of fish and chips.

Introductions were quickly made. Only Jenna remembered who Blake was. She had a really good memory after all. Carl had little interest in football so he only knew Blake in passing. For Flynn, the coywolf was a complete stranger as Flynn was a couple of years older than Chase and the rest of his friends.

"So, what brought you all back here?" Blake asked.

"Ah, we're having a small reunion for spring break in Echo," Leo replied. "What about you? Don't tell me San Gabriel was too exciting for you," he grinned.

The coywolf shook his head with a sigh. "Nah man. My folks told me to help my aunt in Echo for spring break. She runs this diner you see, and she's been short on staff."

Carl made a surprised sort of sound. "Your aunt... Wait. Janice Adler is your aunt?"

Blake quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah? You know her?"

"We used to hang out for lunch or dinner at her place back in high school," Chase explained with a wistful smile. "Not gonna lie, I've missed her sandwiches and fries."

"Oh, really? Didn't you already have her fatty sandwiches twice in two days?" Flynn snarked.

"You know what I mean, Flynn." Chase shot the lizard a look.

"No, I really don't," Flynn grinned toothily back at him.

"Whoa, but like, Janice is really your aunt?" Carl voiced out, still looking surprised.

Flynn shot the ram with an annoyed look. "Think, fatass. They're both named Adler, and they're both coyotes."

"But..." Carl pointed a finger at Blake. "He didn't look anything like Janice."

Flynn was about to retort something but was beaten by Blake.

"That might be because my mother's side of the family are wolves," the coywolf said. "Well, my family has a lot of mixed wolf races from both sides, which resulted in... well, me," he gestured to himself.

Chase nodded. "Makes sense."

"I guess I never made that connection before," Carl admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Chase really hadn't made the connection either. Janice and Blake looked so different.

"So! When did you arrive here, Blake?" Leo asked.

"Last Thursday," Blake replied between bites of his food. "We took the plane to Oasis and drove all the way here."

"You arrived two days before us then," Chase piped up. "Me, TJ and Jenna came here on Saturday," he said, gesturing to his other two friends.

The coywolf nodded. "Cool."

"You're staying with your aunt then?" Jenna ventured a guess.

Blake shook his head. "Nah. My boyfriend and I rented a trailer near the lake. Wouldn't want to impose on Aunt Janice," he said.

Leo hummed. "By Lake Emma Drive?"

Blake nodded. "Yeah, but our trailer is more uphill."

"It has a really nice view of the lake," Blake's boyfriend added. "Though, it feels eerie at night."

"Lake Emma has a lot of history my dude," Carl said, adopting a mysterious sort of voice. "You really don't wanna know."

If anything, Logan looked intrigued. "Oh?"

"Yeap! Some say it's haunted," Carl added.

Flynn made a grunting sound but didn't comment, opting to take a long sip of his soda instead.

"So, how did you meet your boyfriend, Blake?" Jenna went to ask.

It was Logan who answered. "Blake tried out at the wrestling club and got in. I was assigned as his unofficial mentor, of sorts" the wolverine said with a wistful grin.

"Oh?" Jenna looked intrigued.

"Logan is one of the senior trainees and the varsity wrestling team captain," Blake said proudly, thumping his boyfriend's back fondly. "He taught me a lot of stuff. I guess you can say we clicked right away, haha..." the coywolf trailed off, his ears burning bright red.

"You know... that's kinda sweet," Jenna remarked. "So your boyfriend is older than you?"

"Only by a year, but yeah."

"Wow..." the fennec fox sighed, somewhat in a dreamy manner.

Chase thought he saw Jenna's eyes sparkle.

"Wrestling huh? No wonder you got so big, dude," Leo grinned broadly and reached out to squeeze Blake's biceps. "Can't say I'm not jealous."

Blake flexed the arm Leo was touching. "You're welcome to feel them up, bro," he wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

Leo looked he was about to before his gaze shifted to Logan, who was looking at him with bemusement. "Uh... I hope you don't mind?"

"Oh, feel free to feel him up. He loves being touched by strangers," the wolverine grinned toothily.

Flynn let out a guffaw while the insides of Blake's ears went beet red. The coywolf proceeded to swat his boyfriend's shoulders while Leo just sat there awkwardly.

"Never thought you'd be into wrestling, dude," Leo coughed. His ears were red as well. "I thought you'd get into your university's football team or something..."

Blake nodded. "Football is fun and all but I need a change of pace, you know. Figured wrestling would be a good alternative, and I was right," he chuckled, slinging his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders.

Chase saw how Leo had this wistful smile on his face. "Good for you, bud."

There was a lull in the conversation as everyone ate their lunch.

"Where do you guys study?" Chase asked sometime later as he sipped his soda.

"University of San Gabriel," Blake replied.

"I'm majoring in music while Blake took a dramatic arts major," Logan added.

"Dramatic arts?" Leo looked surprised. "Wow, I've never thought!"

"Well, I can see you succeeding on the stage or on the big screen," Jenna mused. "You were pretty great back in the high school drama club."

"Oh yeah, he's pretty great!" Logan agreed. "You guys should hear him sing."

"Shut up, I'm not that great!" Blake groaned and shoved his boyfriend playfully.

"Says the leading man of four consecutive school musical productions," Logan shot back.

"Huh? You sing?" Leo gave the coywolf a surprised stare.

Jenna gave a huff. "Honestly, Leo. You've seen Blake in our high school performances once or twice."

Leo stared at her blankly. "I really don't remember."

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Of course you didn't. You were too busy dating Chase and forgot basically everything else."

"I didn't--"

"You're always like Chase this and Chase that, and you wouldn't stop groping each other every second you two were in the same room," Flynn pointed out with a grin. "Honestly, you guys were like one kiss away from tearing each other's clothes and started fucking in public."

Jenna let out a loud snort of laughter as TJ cried, "Language!" and Chase felt like sinking to the ground. Leo's ears were nearly as red as his fur.

"It wasn't-- we didn't--" the wolf spluttered.

"Hate to break it to you dude, but Flynn's right," Carl said calmly, biting his cheeks. His shoulders were shaking a little. "You kinda forgot about the rest of us when Chase was around."

Leo spluttered some more, trying to come up with an excuse.

"You were a tad annoying, not gonna lie," Blake added, "especially if Chase is watching your matches."

"Not you too, Blake!" Leo whined.

"For real? What did he do?" Flynn looked extremely eager as he leaned forward on the table.

"Oh, he kept himself composed on the field but in the locker rooms, he'd start singing love songs loudly, in Iberian no less, and dancing around the butt naked," Blake said, which elicited another round of guffaws from Flynn and Jenna.

Leo slumped against the table, hiding his face with his paws. "Kill me now..." he groaned in embarrassment.

TJ gave him a pat on the back. "There, there," he said, giggling.

"That's cute, honestly," Logan chuckled, turning to Chase. "So... are you two still together?" he asked.

"Oh, uh..." Chase began. He could feel Leo's mood shift from across the table.

"We're actually..." the wolf uttered just as Chase was speaking. He gave the otter a look of uncertainty.

Chase sighed. "We've broken up," he said with finality.

Leo's ears fell and his tail drooped limply.

"Ah..." Blake looked awkward.

Logan shifted on his chair uncomfortably. "Sorry I brought that up."

"No, no it's fine," Leo said stiffly.

"It's been two years, honestly," Chase added. He could see Leo fidgeting with the anchor bracelet on his arm.

Logan nodded with an awkward smile. "Ah, I see."

Sensing the tension, Blake decided to quickly steer the conversation to another direction and asked, "So... what do you guys do nowadays?"

"I help around my dad's auto shop," Leo replied, not with much enthusiasm.

"Well, that's good I suppose?" Logan said.

Leo shrugged his broad shoulders. "I learn new stuff about cars and engines, yeah," he said. "My parents had moved here to Payton however. We closed down the shop in Echo about a year back."

"I'm not surprised," Blake said. "Echo is not exactly good for business nowadays."

"Try for the past twenty years," Flynn remarked.

Blake conceded with a nod.

"Carl's not doing anything at the moment but he did go to Pueblo University last year," Leo added, gesturing to the ram. Carl looked a little surprised when Blake and Logan turned to look at him.

"Oh, what did you take?" Logan asked.

"Business," the ram said, poking at his tacos with his fork. He seemed to hunched in on himself "Didn't last a year though. Turns out I'm too much of an idiot to study business and management. Heh."

"Don't sell yourself short, fatass," Flynn huffed and poked the ram's head with a finger.

Blake and Logan stared and blinked, unsure what to say.

Carl hunched down on himself even more.

Sensing Carl's discomfort, Leo decided to bring their attention away from the ram and said, "Three guesses to what Flynn does."

Flynn shot the wolf with an annoyed look. "Don't you start."

Blake tilted his head a little, thinking. "You run a shop or something?"

Flynn let out a snort. "As if."

"You're a bartender then?" Logan guessed.

"Do I look like I bartend?" the Gila lizard raised a ridged eyebrow.

Logan chuckled. "You kinda have the look, yeah" said the wolverine with a shrug.

Flynn looked a little surprised at that. He recovered quickly however. "Well... you guessed wrong."

Blake snapped his fingers. "You're a bouncer then."

"Ha! Me? A bouncer?" the lizard huffed in annoyance. Though he looked bemused by the idea.

Chase couldn't help but chuckle. For some reason he could see Flynn wearing a tight black uniform and standing around looking intimidating and blocking underaged kids from sneaking into a club.

"I'm out of ideas then," Logan sighed good naturedly.

"Me too," Blake chuckled and turned to Leo. "Go on then, tell us, Leo."

Leo leaned forward and raised a paw to his muzzle, giving everyone on the table an exaggerated, conspiratorial grin. "Flynn here is Echo's town clerk," he stage whispered.

Chase blinked. For one thing, he did not expect that.

"Wait... isn't your aunt the mayor?" he couldn't help but point out.

Flynn shot him a look. "So?"

"Nepotism!" Carl sing-songed, and got smacked upside the head by Flynn.

"Shut up. It's not," the lizard grunted. "You try running for that office without any other contenders for three years straight."

"Nepotism!" Carl sing-songed again, and was promptly bonked on the head with Flynn's plastic water bottle.

Chuckling at the two's antics, Blake then turned to Chase, Jenna and TJ. "And what about you three?"

"Chase and I went to Pueblo University, while TJ went to CCU," Jenna replied.

"I'm majoring in journalism and Jenna took psychology," Chase added.

TJ then added somewhat shyly, "I'm majoring in Athletic Training."

"That's cool," Logan whistled.

Blake hummed. "CCU... that's the Christian university, right?"

Logan gave a nod. "Yeah. I have a cousin who went there."

TJ's ears perked up. "Really? I might know them."

"Eh... not sure if you do. He's in his final year at business administration," the wolverine said.

"Well, there's only one dorm building for guys at CCU. I might've seen him around," TJ said.

"He's called Dom. Dominic Mercer," said the wolverine.

"Dominic Mercer... Dominic Mercer... Oh! Yes I think I know," TJ gave a nod. "He's a bit short and likes to play really loud music, right?"

Logan chuckled and clicked his fingers. "Yes, that's him."

"Yeah, his room is on my floor. Often gets into trouble with the RA," TJ made a face at that, which earned a few laughs from Logan.

"Yeah, he's a bit of a rebel," the wolverine mused, chuckling.

The conversation continued, with Chase, Leo and Jenna taking turns asking Blake about his life in San Gabriel, and Blake asking the three of them about their own life after high school.

There wasn't much for Chase to tell to be honest. He didn't have many exciting things to tell... aside from the freaky cold front that ended up with the university giving the students a week's early start to spring break.

When queried if they were experiencing the freak cold wave, Blake and Logan shook their heads and said that USG usually has a long spring break for its students, ranging around two and a half weeks. Chase tried not to feel too jealous about that.

"Soooo... what are you guys planning to do next?" Leo asked after they all had finished their food.

"Well, we're thinking of hitting the games area and maybe watching some shows to walk off the food," Logan said.

"Then we'll hit the rides again," Blake added with a grin. "You guys rode the Event Horizon yet?"

"It's the last thing we took before we had lunch," Leo replied. "Chase and Teej got sick from it," he snickered.

Chase poked his tongue out at the wolf, who poked his tongue back out in response.

"The games area sounds like fun," TJ piped up with a nod.

Leo turned to Blake. "You two don't mind us tagging along?"

The coywolf shook his head with a grin. "Nah, the more the merrier!"

"Cool," Leo grinned back.

---

Chase wasn't the least surprised to find the games area crowded. Still, he had expected a smaller crowd. It was as if everyone from Payton decided to come out to the theme park today. He had to admit that the park had done a nice job refurbishing the games area. It was made to resemble a stereotypical old wild-west town, with saloons, sheriff's office, and shops serving as the facade of the game and snack booths, complete with fake cacti and tumbleweeds.

Definitely a step up from the haphazard collection of game booths and snack stands from two years back.

Their group of eight immediately split up. Chase found himself paired with Carl playing the basketball game. They were both pretty terrible at it but Chase managed to score more points than the ram. He won a small purple dragon plushie while Carl got a keychain plushie shaped like a fox knight.

Chase and Carl tried the shooting gallery next. It was where they found Flynn beating the shit out of everyone, including them. Unsurprisingly, the Gila won the grand prize, which was a huge badger plushie in a stereotypical prospector's clothes, which he promptly dumped on Chase's unsuspecting arms.

"I don't really need this shit," Flynn had said before he grinned toothily at Chase. "One muskshit needs a muskshit though, eh?" he added, flashing the otter a wide shit-eating grin before he ambled away to try other games.

"Asshole," Chase huffed but accepted the plushie anyway. The badger plushie was really soft.

He and Carl went to try other games, but they ended up just walking about and to see how the others were doing. The two of them found TJ having a pretty good time with the ball drop game and decided to join in. The lynx won a set of squishy sports balls while Chase and Carl won a couple of keychains each. TJ then joined them to look for the others. The three of them then found Blake and Logan by the ring-toss booth. The coywolf and wolverine were engaged in a friendly competition of sorts, bantering in a somewhat flirtatious way.

Strangely, he couldn't find Jenna and Leo ever since they split off.

"I wonder where they went off to," Chase hummed as they continued to walk around the area.

"Beats me," Carl shrugged. "I'd kill for a blunt right now though..." he added mournfully.

TJ gave the stocky ram a consoling pat. "They should be around here somewhere," TJ said to Chase's question. "Oh hey, that looks fun!"

The lynx pulled Chase and Carl to try out a tower knock down game.

Things continued in this fashion, with Chase, TJ and Carl trying to find where Jenna and Leo had gone off to, while getting distracted with a shiny new game every once in a while, and collecting a couple more prizes.

In the end, the three of them decided to rest and have some ice cream from the ice cream shop that was fashioned to look like an old-timey ice cream parlor. Chase was only glad to get out from the afternoon sun and to rest his aching feet.

"Ah, they're using Hen's Ice Cream," Carl said after a lick of his sundae.

Chase turned to the ram while licking his chocolate ice cream. "How can you tell?"

"Try being a taste tester for your family's ice cream business since you're five, dude," the ram grinned. "I didn't know Southwest Adventures had switched to Hen's though."

"Guess your mom managed to buy out the competition," TJ said jokingly.

Carl hummed and shrugged. "Ehhh she might have. I'll just have to ask," he said nonchalantly and proceeded to devour his sundae.

"Oh hey, there you guys are!"

Chase turned to look and saw Blake making his way towards them. The coywolf was alone.

"Hey Blake. Ice cream?" Carl offered.

"Hmm? Oh that looks good, but listen," Blake turned to Chase. "You've been looking for Leo and Jenna, right?"

"Yeah? You found them?" Chase asked.

The coywolf nodded, grinning in amusement. "Yeap! Found them doing their own rendition of "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" by the strength games."

Chase had no idea what Logan just referred to but he got the gist of it. TJ was giggling though.

"I can see them doing that," the lynx said between giggles.

"Let's go and see," Chase said, standing up.

Just as Blake said, Jenna and Leo were having a heated argument by the strength games. Flynn and Logan were already there, watching from the sidelines as Jenna and Leo argued about whether the punching game was rigged.

Chase was more interested in the large bag of huge plushies that Leo was currently carrying.

"Whoa, good haul guys! Did you win all that, Leo?" Chase asked.

The wolf seemed surprised to see Chase and nearly dropped the bag.

"Oh! Chase! Uhm, these are... erm..."

"I won most of that, actually," Jenna piped up with a grin. "I've beaten him at every game."

"Except three," Leo coughed.

Jenna whirled to the wolf and gave him a glare. "I won two out of four!"

Leo let out a tight sort of laugh. "Yeah, that last game was obviously rigged, and obviously, the wins are getting to your head."

"Oh please," Jenna snorted and turned to Chase. "You should have seen his face; sour grapes the whole time."

Chase couldn't help but grin a little. Leo and Jenna could get extremely competitive when they were kids. This should get interesting. "Oh really?"

"Yeap! And I'm gonna get that third win with that high striker over there," the fennec fox pointed out. "Come on Leo!"

Leo's tight expression slowly relaxed to a more genuine, confident grin. He was almost twice as large as Jenna, with a broad, muscled build, so Chase couldn't fault him for being confident.

"I don't know, Jenna," he said slowly, "It doesn't seem very fair to you, I mean..."

Jenna simply shot Leo a look. Her blue eyes glinted in that foxy, mischievous way. "Really now, Leo? Afraid I'm gonna woo your ex?"

Chase felt his face heat up.

Leo's grin sharpened several degrees. His fangs were showing. "Oh yeah? Alright, let's do this then," he then turned to Chase. "Don't worry, chula. I'll get that huge stuffed gryphon for you."

Chase turned to look at the ridiculously large, bright red gryphon hanging from the high striker's prize stand. "Go get 'em big guy," he couldn't help but giggle.

"Step right up, test your strength! Three dollars, three tries!" the carny by the high striker cried out. "Ring the bell and win a prize!"

Leo stepped up to the carny. "I'd like a try," he said.

"Ah, we have a taker! Big strong wolf like you would have no problem at all! Three dollars, please!" the carny grinned.

Leo paid the fare and the carny handed him a mallet.

"Don't disappoint me, Leo. I really want that stuffed gryphon!" Chase couldn't help himself.

"Woo! Go Leo!" Blake cried.

Leo sent Chase a wide, confident grin and swung the mallet leisurely with his thick, muscled arms. "This one's for you, chula!" he shouted before he turned to the high striker machine.

The wolf spread his legs and squared his shoulders before raising the hammer high, and bringing it down hard onto the rubber pad.

BANG!

The chaser went up to the 40 point mark.

The carny tilted his head and whistled. "Oooh, almost, sir wolf, try again!"

Leo let out a huge huff. His brows furrowed as he glared at the machine as if it had offended him. He raised the mallet again and grunted as he brought it down even harder, causing the contraption to shake a little.

BANG!

The chaser went all the way up to the 70 point mark. The ground even shook a little from the force of his swing.

"Even better! Put your back into it, sir wolf!" the carny encouraged.

Leo was already moving. With a snarl, the wolf raised the mallet higher and swung it down with all his might, all of his arm muscles bulging. Chase definitely felt the ground shake when Leo swung the mallet down hard to the rubber pad.

He watched as the chaser went all the way up to... 60.

Leo gaped at the game.

Flynn sniggered noisily to the side.

"Tough luck man!" Carl hollered.

"Man, that game is rigged!" Blake complained.

"So close!" the carny grinned at Leo. "Three more dollars and you'll get three more tries. Would ya like to try again, sir?"

Before Leo could respond, Jenna butted in and said, "My turn now!"

"Ohoho! Well step right up, fair fox maiden!" the carny grinned brightly at Jenna. "How will you fare against the big bad wolf?"

Leo grunted and handed the mallet to Jenna after the fox had paid her fare. "Alright then. Beat my 70."

"Easy enough," Jenna then pointed the mallet at Chase. "I'm gonna get that stuffed gryphon for you, Chase!" she shouted, giving the otter a wink.

Leo snorted and folded his arms. "Good luck with that. I was hitting it with all my--"

Jenna raised the mallet and swung it down in a graceful arc, bringing it down clean and hard on the rubber pad as if she was going to chop wood.

DING! DING! DING!

The carny stared. Leo stared.

Chase and the others stared.

Jenna let out a loud whoop. "Yeah! Take that Leo!"

The few onlookers who had been looking laughed and cheered.

"W-well! What a turn of events folks!" the carny laughed along. "The fair fox has won! Come over and pick your prize!"

"She got you good Leo!" Flynn sniggered loudly.

Blake walked up to Leo and gave the wolf an encouraging pat. "Tough luck, bud. Still, that was impressive."

Leo shook himself out of his stupor and gave the coywolf a small, strained sort of smile. "Thanks, dude."

Jenna was grinning to herself as the carny handed her the huge, brightly colored stuffed gryphon. She then skipped over to where Chase and the others were watching and thrusted the plushie to Chase's arms.

"Here you go, Chase!"

Chase laughed, grabbing the absolutely humongous toy. "Thanks, Jenna. That was pretty awe--"

He froze a little when Jenna leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"It was nothing," Jenna said, fluttering her eyelashes playfully.

Chase saw how Leo's expression tightened even more and his jaw worked. "Awesome. Let's go then," he said through gritted teeth as he marched off with the rest of the stuffed toys.

Blake gave the wolf a bewildered look before he went off after his friend.

"Oh great, now he's gonna be irritable all day," Chase sighed.

"Hush, he'll get over it. He's just so damn fun to tease!" Jenna said, still grinning.

Chase had to concede to that. "True, but you know how he's still not really over with the breakup, right?"

Jenna raised an eyebrow. She folded her arms and crooked an eyebrow. "Haven't you guys talked about it?"

"Not really..." Chase rubbed the back of his neck.

Jenna gave the otter a look. "You two really should clear things up," she sighed. "Anyway, don't tell him that I worked in the state fair and figuring out how these things work is child's play."

Chase snorted. "Yeah, he'd be even more pissed and say the game's rigged."

"Right?" Jenna giggled. "Okay! Let's go before we lose Leo in the crowd," she said, grabbing Chase's arm and dragged him forward.

"Hey! Slow down!" Chase yelped and tried to match her surprisingly long strides.

---

The rest of the day was pretty fun and exhausting at the same time. Chase and the others managed to take on a few more rides. They skipped the stage shows altogether to get in the rides as the estimated waiting times for each ride got progressively longer and longer.

Leo's sour mood didn't last long, thankfully. The wolf brightened considerably when Chase decided to sit with him on the ferris wheel. He even let Leo put his arm over his shoulder, which improved his mood even more. The wolf's tail wagged happily throughout the ride.

Flynn, being the adrenaline junkie that he was, was adamant on taking on the more extreme rides in the theme park. Chase was proud to say that he didn't pass out when Flynn dragged them to ride The Chimera; a suspended roller coaster with a dizzying amount of tight loops and twists. He declined to go when Flynn dragged them to the Astro Tower, which was a drop tower ride. There's no way in hell he'd ride that thing. He was happier to have his feet on solid ground along with TJ and Carl.

TJ, who had declined to go on the more extreme rides, did join them to ride the largest swinging ship ride in the park that spun 360 degrees. The lynx screamed all the way as the ship spun around and around. Chase was sure his arm was going to break from the way the lynx was holding it throughout the ride however, but TJ did look like he had fun.

When Blake suggested they try the Slingshot ride, only Flynn, Carl, Leo, agreed to go. Leo only went along after Blake teased him that he's too scared to ride it. Chase and the others decided to remain on the ground and went to see the live video feed from a specialized booth. It was pretty entertaining to see their reactions.

Chase had never expected to see Flynn to ever look so terrified, nor expected to hear his scream of terror as the Slingshot was launched into the air. He had never once screamed through the roller coasters, or even the drop tower. The lizard's hair spikes refused to go down even after he was back on solid ground. Carl's scream was the second loudest, and once he was back on the ground, the ram's legs shook and his gait was unsteady. Leo looked like he fared better than Flynn and Carl, but he ended up puking behind the bushes once he was done with the ride.

Out of the four of them, only Blake enjoyed the ride the most, as the coywolf went in for seconds, much to everyone's surprise. Blake's screams were not of terror, but of thrilled joy. Logan had muttered something about crazy adrenaline junkie boyfriends in a fond and exasperated sort of way.

By 6 PM, everyone was exhausted and had taken their fill of thrills. They all trudged back to the food court for dinner as their last activity in the theme park. They all decided to have hot dogs and fries for dinner (with TJ and Carl going for the more vegetarian options).

"By the way, do you guys need a ride back to Echo?" Leo asked Blake once they had finished eating.

"Hmm? Oh no need," the coywolf shook his head. "I have my own car."

Leo nodded nonchalantly. "Alrighty. Do you still drive that old blue station wagon?"

Blake gave him an odd look. "Well no. I sold that car when I moved to San Gabriel. We had to rent a car to get to Echo from Oasis."

"Oh, right. I forgot," Leo slapped his forehead.

"That's alright, we're all tired," Blake chuckled. "It'll be cool if we can hang out in Echo though."

"It's not like there's anything much to do in town either way," Jenna said.

Leo nodded along with a grin. "Yeah, we can arrange something."

"Awesome," Blake grinned back. "Oh yeah, are you still using your old number Leo?"

The two wolves quickly exchanged numbers.

Chase and the others said goodbye to Blake and Logan at the park's gates. They went their separate ways as they had different parking locations. It took Chase and the others about five minutes getting from the park entrance to Leo's van. The otter felt like his feet were going to fall off by the time he climbed into the car.

He ended up sitting up front with Leo this time around, which he really didn't mind. He was so tired that he didn't notice where he had dozed off until they were already halfway to Echo.

When he was feeling more coherent, he could see that Leo had stopped the van by a railroad crossing. The red warning lights flashed along with the sounds of the warning bells. Chase could hear the incoming train's horns blaring in the distance.

Chase let out a huge yawn and stretched out his limbs.

"Hey. Did you have fun today, Chase?" Leo asked. His voice was lowered so not to disturb the others sleeping.

"It was fun," Chase gave the wolf a tired smile. "I'm ready to shower and then sleep when we're back in the motel."

Leo chuckled. "I hear you."

The sounds of the train horn got a little bit louder.

"Did you have fun today, Leo?" Chase asked back.

"Yeah, I did," the wolf grinned. "It's been a while since we all hung out. I've missed this to be honest."

Chase had to agree. It was fun, even with Flynn's sharp jabs and general asshole-ness. "Well, we've got two weeks to spend time together. A few more group activities couldn't hurt," he chuckled.

Leo grinned brightly at that. "For sure! I have a few ideas in mind."

"Oh? Care to tell me?"

"Now that is for me to know, and you to find out," Leo chuckled, giving Chase a light nudge.

"Aw... not even a teeny tiny hint?"

Leo shook his head and poked his tongue out a little. "Nope!"

"Spoilsport," Chase chuckled and turned to look through the window. He could see a freight train slowly coming around and it should be passing them shortly.

"Hmm? I wonder what those guys are doing this far out at this hour."

"Huh?"

"Look, look," Leo pointed ahead.

Chase followed Leo's line of sight and saw two figures making their way up the road from the other side of the train tracks. He couldn't see them clearly at first, but their features were soon easy to make out. One was a white-furred cougar, and the other was a fox with bright red fur.

What was strange was how the two looked like they were dressed up for a wild west show or something. Their clothes were very old-timey and didn't seem to be practical to travel in the desert; button-up shirts, suspenders, waistcoats, and scarves.

The strange cougar and fox continued walking. They didn't seem to realize that they were getting too close to the tracks.

"What are those two idiots doing...?" Leo muttered before he unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the van. He began shouting to the two and waving his arms in huge movements. "Hey! Hey! Stop!"

The two strange men didn't stop walking. Chase stared as the cougar and fox were now walking through the edge of the tracks. The train was approaching the crossing now, blaring its horns loudly.

Leo began running towards the strangers.

"Leo! God damnit...!" Chase unbuckled his seatbelt and exited the van.

The others began to wake.

"Huh? What's that noise?"

"Keep it down, I'm trying to sleep!"

"Chase, what's going on? Where are you going?"

Chase ignored them and ran up to Leo, who had now reached the perimeter of the tracks, still waving and shouting. The train's horns drowned out the wolf's shouts.

The cougar and fox suddenly slowed down to a stop... right on top of the tracks. The cougar gave a start and looked around, seemingly confused by something.

Leo shouted on top of his lungs. Chase was shouting as well, trying to warn the two strangers of the incoming danger. How come those two do not notice where they are standing?

The cougar slowly turned his head towards the train. His eyes, red as blood, widened as if he had just registered what was happening. The cougar's eyes then flicked towards Chase.

Chase stood rooted to the spot, unable to look away as the massive diesel engine smashed into the cougar and the fox. Leo took several steps back, paws clasped on his muzzle.

Chase's ears were ringing. It took him a while to realize that Jenna, TJ, Carl and Flynn had already gotten out of the van and were running towards him and Leo.

"Holy shit--"

"Did... did they just--"

"Oh my god..."

Chase found himself walking up to the tracks as the train went past them. It didn't even stop, just continuing down the tracks as if it hadn't bowled into two people.

Chase really didn't want to look at the tracks, but he had to know. He steeled himself, and looked.

He blinked.

The tracks were empty. There was nothing on the tracks but gravel and dirt, and tiny bits of wild grass. There were no signs of the two strangers, not even the gory remains of two people being crushed and torn to shreds by a massive freight train.

It was simply as if the cougar and fox had disappeared into thin air.

"They're gone," Leo said, breathing heavily. He turned to Chase and the others, who had now joined him by the side of the tracks.

"You... you all saw that, right?"

Chase nodded as he took a deep, calming breath. "Yeah..."

"We all did," Flynn said. He looked shaken. "What the fuck was that?!"

"W-where did they go?" TJ asked nervously. His muzzle twitching.

"I don't know..." Leo said, rubbing his temples. "I don't know..."

The six of them looked around the empty railroad crossing, trying to make sense of what they just saw.

"Let's... let's just head back," Leo finally said.

"Yeah, agreed." Chase nodded.

They all returned to the van, feeling confused and scared. Leo's paws were shaking as he started the van up again and slowly drove through the crossing.

Chase felt a headache incoming and his ears were ringing.

He chanced to look back to the tracks from the side-view mirror. His eyes widened.

Standing in the middle of the train tracks was the white furred cougar again. There were no signs of the fox. Only the cougar.

Chase rolled down the window and leaned out to have a better look.

"Chase? What's wrong?" he heard Leo's voice, but he didn't answer.

The cougar was still standing there, looking entirely unharmed. There was something strange about him however. No matter how hard Chase tried to look, the cougar's form was blurry and out of focus, as if Chase was looking at him through frosted glass.

He was more concerned with how the feline was looking back at the van, however.

Those glowing, blood red eyes were staring right into Chase.